I'm 61. Any Briton of a similar age know these guys off by heart. When we hear a police siren our first thought is "he won't sell much ice cream going at that speed!"
Andre Previn was a very highly respected serious musician at this time. Conductor of many major orchestras ( including the one in this sketch ) and had already won four Oscars by this point. The public perception would be that he would be very dry and lacking in humour..... Andre's only stipulation was that no-one made fun of the music. Other than that he was game. Superb timing, deadpan expression and a great sense of fun. Brilliant.
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 I get a broad grin on my face whenever Grieg Piano Concerto comes.on the radio as it has such fond memories so Andre was wise ( no pun intended ) to realise an appearance here would open up classical music to a wider audience and make it seems less stuffy and inaccessible. 👌
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 indeed ! The moment Eric realises that, although Andre hadn't been there for the extensive rehearsals, he ' got it ' and the sketch was in safe hands.
They had some of the best Hollywood actors of the time asking to be on their show. This would have been reherst for hour and hours before they did it life on television.
Andre Previn was very highly-respected. To see him take part in a comedy like this, was so gracious of him. He knew he was in a comedy. He knew he would be lampooned, but he joined in the fun. Great respect to the man. The ending showed that.
Andre Previn at the time was a world famous pianist/conductor and agreed to appearing which was not rehearsed. From thereon when he came to London everyone called him 'Mr Preview.' Tha Band was 'London Symphony Orchestra' & the saying 'Right Notes! Wrong Order' became a national saying and is still used today, 53 years later
"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" became an overnight catch phrase. Their show consisted of an intro chat, sketches, guest singers and the finale was always a mini play "wot Ernie wrote". Their Christmas specials attracted many famous people aho willingly came on to be humiliated. Their 1977 Christmas Special was watched by 28 million viewers (and that is on the night of transmission). Morecambe and Wise on telly 1968 to 1977 and Two Ronnies on telly 1971 to 1987. What a time to be alive!!
One of the main reasons I am happy I grew up when I did !! We were blessed with amazing entertainers, that helped us laugh & smile even through difficult times.
One thing I love about this sketch is that Andre did not show up to a single rehearsal making Morecombe and Wise very nervous that the sketch was going to fail on TV. It's amazing that someone with no background in comedy performs so well without rehearsing that you dont even notice
Eric and Ernie were very strict with rehearsals, every joke and movement had to be meticulously planned and nailed down in order to get right (They once didn’t make a series one year and instead focused all their efforts into that year’s Christmas special). With this sketch, Previn couldn’t commit to all the rehearsals, because obviously he was busy, so there was some tension when they got in front of the camera. When you see Eric’s reaction to Previn’s ‘I’ll get my baton. It’s in Chicago’, that was him basically going ‘Ok, we’re going to be fine’. Because of this sketch, everyone in Britain forever called Previn ‘Andrew Preview’, and he just accepted it. Even when he passed away in 2019, the British media couldn’t resist referring him to ‘Andrew Preview’.
This was part of their 1971 Christmas Show for which they saved their best ideas and had 'top' guests. It was considered a bit of an honour to be invited on as a guest, especially on the Christmas shows, and in recent years the BBC has taken to repeating some of them over the Christmas period, 50 years or so after they were made, which shows how ingrained in the National consciousness they became. Christmas is, perhaps more extended here as the day after Christmas is a public holiday and many people who can take the period between Christmas and New Year as leave, so Christmases past possibly make more of a lasting impact, but, whatever the reason, Eric and Ernie's Christmas shows made a lasting impact upon the British psyche and they are warmly remembered and sadly missed, especially by those of us of a certain age. They certainly did bring sunshine (to quote their signature song).
There's an ending to this that you didn't see . As others have said Andre Previn was one of the top orchestral geniuses of that time and the end was a comical look at how careers change after working eith Eric and Ernie . You have a close up of Andre saying to the camera, " I'm Andre Previn and this is me after working with Morecambe and Wise " . The camera pulls back as a London bus pulls away and Andre rings the bell as the ticket collector . Classic comedy from a time when humour was clean and silly . Mr Previn, top man for taking part 👏
Andre preview became an overnight success here in the UK and gained tens of thousands of fans too. Any actors singers performers would jump at the chance to appear on the Morcambe and Wise show. They were the big stars of the Seventies and Eighties.
@@lynnelang3184They had had a checquered career for many years. It wasn't until they hired Eddie Braben as their writer that they really attained stardom. He understood them better than any other writers and really created the show that we remember.
@@Benjiesbeenbetter. Kenneth Tynan wrote a great article about M&W saying that Braben inverted their onstage persona. He sais something along the lines that with Hills & Green, Ernie was the streetwise straightman & Eric was the gormless or naive clown, but with Braben Ernie was the naive straightman and Eric the streetwise clown.
Mr. Previn came totally prepared for this show, he also loved the fact that wherever he went in the world British people would recognize him & call out Andrew Preview. RIP Mr. Previn.
Its difficult to convey just how much loved by the country were Eric and Ernie. Their christmas specials stopped the nation with huge viewing figures. Family fun, no bad language and that genuine love and warmth between them, their guests and us, the audience. When Eric died so young, it was felt as a personal loss by many many people. Just the best. Still miss you lads.
Yehudi Menuhin - American-born British violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century Sir Henry Wood - English conductor and founder of the 'Henry Wood Promenade concerts' ('Proms' for short - You may have reacted to something from 'the last night of the proms' the final night of the season...many react channels do) - they are a series of classical music concerts held each year. The joke being that Eric is riffing on the meaning of 'promenade'...i.e. the type of concert and a beachfront promenade intended to be walk along (or fished from as the joke is here) Arthur Negus - British TV personality and antiques expert specialising in furniture. At this time he was on a TV show called 'Going for a Song' where, along with a panel of other experts and celebrities, he appraised antiques. The phrase “go for a song” means to be sold very cheaply. The show entailed the panel being presented with an antique and they would have to assess and identify it and guess the date and value of the piece etc...which would then be revealed to see if they were correct. (hence the 'three-piece suite gag'...riffing on 'suite' - a set of furniture that consists of a sofa and two chairs covered in the same material and suite being a piece of music) Glenda Jackson - very famous and successful British actress...at the time this was made she was in a film called 'The Music Lovers', which was not a particularly big hit, but was based on the life of Tchaikovsky, hence the reference (topical then, obscure now) Ivy Benson - 1940s popular all female swing bandleader frequently headlined variety theatres and topped the bill at London Palladium. The joke being that he's juxtaposing the relatively low-brow nature of old school music hall variety entertainment with high brow classical music. The genius being that he's about to play music hall style piano...rather than the classical he's supposed to... So many jokes both lost to time and in lost in translation.
_"For another £4 we could have got Ted Heath"_ - Possibly a reference to the British 'big band' leader, but he was already dead by this time. More likely, Eric was referring to Sir Edward 'Ted' Heath, former Prime Minister and amateur conductor. Whoever was meant, Eric suggesting that musical superstar André Previn was £4 cheaper was a bit insulting :)
Every British person now knows the line: "I am playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order." But not many knew who Andre Previn was, because he was in the classical music field, and not really famous to the general public at the time. He became mega famous after the show was aired!
Andrew Previn was the American conductor of the LSO , London Symphony Orchestra for a number of years,he was also an accomplished concert pianist,he died in 2019❤❤
Eric was actually a excellent pianist. Another brilliant comedian that was a excellent pianist was Les Dawson. Part of his act was playing the piano badly and it was absolutely hilarious. He is another one from the same era as Eric and Ernie that will be worth you looking at.
It was always assumed that Les was a great pianist to be able to do that, but after he died, his widow confessed that, although he greatly exaggerated for the stage, he really wasn't a very good pianist.
@@Benjiesbeenbetter. Perhaps not "great", but there are enough bits of footage of Les when he was playing "straight" to show he was a very decent pianist. He only played wrong notes when he wanted to, always selected for comedic effect and played with the correct musical timing. This was not just some hack banging at the keyboard.
@numberkruncherr I didn't mean to imply the bad playing was for real. It's just that a myth grew up that he was actually a latter day Gershwin. He was, as you say, good but not the world class talent the myth suggested.
Eric Morecambe and Les Dawson were average pianists. It was very common for variety artists to be able to play a musical instrument, often the piano. Neither could be described as excellent.
Eric Morcambe's instruction to Andre was that " we three must be the only people who do not find any of this funny ". Hence the orchestra in the background all pissing themselves laughing watching their former boss having his chops smacked and made to jump up in the air. 😄
Guys this went over your heads. This is one of the all time great moments in tv. You have to understand he was one of the most respected and serious musicians of the age. And they were mocking him. They didn’t even rehearse it and had to film it on the fly. And it turned out to be a classic and Previn was greatly praised for his comic timing and ability to run with the script he was given even with the ad libs.
There was a rerun of this in 2000 while I was stuck in hospital in Australia after an horrific accident. I was howling with laughter and all the nurses rushed in worried that I had had a relapse. It really cheered me up.
One of my favourite M & W jokes is just 2 lines. The 2 of them sitting on a park bench: "It's nice out in the sun" "Yes but put it away, here comes a policeman."
Andre Previn was a MASSIVE musical figure back in the 60s to the 80's ( just read his Wikipedia page). He flew over to the UK especially to do this sketch and learned his lines in the taxi on the way to the studio from the airport. If I remember correctly, they didn't even rehearse the sketch, he just came in and did it so that it had a natural flow. He was a true professional and much loved by the UK after hamming it up with Eric & Ernie. Famous actors, actresses & musicians of the day used to line up to be on one of their shows & have the Micky taken out of themselves by those two.
Many famous people of stage and screen literally wanted to appear on the M&W show. They all knew they were going to be the subject of humour, but not at their expense to belittle them. 'A' list celebs of the time felt 'safe' with M&W, Glenda Jackson, Peter Cushing, Shirley Bassey and many more. Millions of people here in the UK tuned in to watch M&W on the BBC every Saturday eve back in the 1970's, especially the Xmas shows. The Two Ronnies were another very successful comedy duo, whose series ran for years :)
I was once watching a quiz on TV and the answer was Andre Previn. After growing up with this sketch, and seeing it about 100 times, I confidently (and accidentally) yelled 'Andrew Preview'.
Great family entertainment and for those of us that watched all these back in the day - it brings back warm memories of watching with Mum and Dad. Not a swear word in sight!!
Morecambe and Wise started out doing the live variety shows back in the days when you had to be able to sing, dance, and play music as well as be funny in order to get noticed. They did some great sketches with singers like Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones. If famous people were asked if they wanted to be made to look stupid by Morecambe and Wise, their answer was always yes.
They started as child performers during WW2, when many adults had been called up. They learnt from mistakes and by the 1070 had perfected their craft. Their first TV series in the early 60 had very bad reviews, being most famous for having the Beatles as the musical guests in one episode. They did three films in the 60s. The first was very bad but they got better with each one. Their Christmas specials in the 70s were the highlight of TV for the day. This sketch became what Andre Previn was most famous for.
Trouble with reacting to this sketch now is that a lot of the references are both very british and dated (Ivy Benson for one). I saw this live when first broadcast and nearly wet myself. Andre Previn was a hugely respected international figure as a serious, very professional, musician of world standing. For various reasons he had very little rehearsal and Morecombe has said he didn’t think he would get it. Eric's reaction to "I'll just get my baton - it's in Chicago" was the point at which Eric realised that Andre was fully on board and committed. Not surprisingly a conductors sense of timing, musically and comedic, was superb. As has already been noted the sketch followed Andre for the rest of his life and added to his respect, he referred to it at some length in his autobiography. I am delighted that, despite the many local references, both in time and location, our friends across the water can still 'get' and enjoy the sketch. To me it is one of the all time classics. I know it by heart, I still laugh when watching it! Thank you for sharing it.
Lovely! Morecambe and Wise really were a British institution. They started as song dance / comic in the music halls of post war England. The mastered and perfected their art in the early days of tv and at the peak, A list guests queued up to appear on their show to be mocked and made fun of. You knew you had made it once Eric and Ernie made fun of you! All family entertainment at is very best. RIP boys - sadly missed.
As has been said, Andre Previn was the most famous 'serious' musician and conductor in the world at that time. It is said that Morecambe was unsure whether the sketch would work as it had no real rehearsal time, but when it came to the 'It's in Chicago' line, he knew it was going to work, hence his laugh after it.
Yes, you can see for a second that he was about to gee up the audience, realised that they had "got" the joke, and then knew that it was all going to come good. Just HOW good it would come is the stuff of legend...
I love the band in background cracking up. Brilliant very iconic sketch. Everyone in Britain knows the line “I’m playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order” very iconic line
No 70s Christmas was complete without Eric and Ernie , and it was usually the most watched show . Their music hall origins meant they could do a bit of everything and they had some big guest stars .Andre and others admitted they were nervous about doing comedy but it always worked superbly . Singing in the rain , and Glenda Jackson in Ernies version of Anthony & Cleopatra come to mind but there are so many worth another look . Glad you both enjoyed this one .
I've always loved the way Ernie Wise, beaming away, dances along to Eric's playing, like an adult size little boy. Andre Previn was well known in the UK at the time, and whilst very personable in interviews, was thought of as a serious musician and conductor, so him appearing on the Morecambe and Wise show was a revelation. Their act was unusual in itself as they'd moved on from the usual straight man / comic routine to a large extent, and were both doing the comedy. I think their scriptwriter said of their stage characters "they're both idiots, but neither of them realises." Andre Previn does a superb job of keeping a straight face throughout. It can't have been easy.
They did perform it years earlier with just themselves but adding Previn to the mix turned a funny sketch into a timeless classic. The punch line is just beautiful....
The gag about "which one's the fixer" that made the orchestra laugh is an in-joke for musicians. When agents are asked to get a group of musicians together, they ask one musician to contact the best musicians available and that person (the fixer) will get a cut of the agent's fee for doing it. So, in a group of musicians, everyone has to keep friendly with the fixer even though they are all envious because he/she gets paid the MU rate fee plus the additional fee agreed by the agent. Hence, "he's the one in the gold lamé suit" ie better paid than the rest. Basically, Eric blew a musicians' secret on national TV, but only the orchestra understood it.
Mr Previn agreed to the show but did not do the 2 weeks reherlsal and read hes script in a Taxi to the studio just before filming started , Morecambe and wise were unsure about hes ability until Previn said my baton is in Chicargo , thats why Eric said hes in hes in
Being a celeb and having the p*** taken out of them by Morecambe & Wise was like a rite of passage, especially if it was on the Christmas Day show when almost half of the UK was watching. It is also very clever to be able to play the piano "badly" like that. Another comedian who did this brilliantly was Les Dawson.
Eric Morecambe apparently said that he felt that the Grieg piano concerto sketch was one of the best ones they ever made. 😊 And I definitely agree. How Previn kept a straight face throughout the sketch, I have no idea. 😄 Especially when Morecambe plays the ragtime version. 😁
Previn had been on the BBC for years before he appeared on the Morecambe & Wise Show. He lived in the UK at the time but rarely got recognised. The day after this show went out the guys down the pub insisted on buying him a drink
At the time that this was recorded it was a great honour to be invited to appear on The Morcambe & Wise Show. It was watched by everybody more or less. They were fantastically popular and very funny. I have seen that clip many times and watched it when it was originally broadcast, and I had tears of laughter again watching it just now. The British sense of humour and the American one are often quite different. To get on the Morcambe and Wise Show you had to be seriously famous and game for a laugh. Andre Previn was very famous in the UK at that time and had far more of a sense of humour than many people suspected.
No it was during the plane flight over, you're maybe thinking of Rod Temperton who wrote Vincent Price's rap for Thriller in the cab over to meet Vincent at the recording studio
It has been written and told many times, as fact, that Previn learnt the script, by torch light, in the back of the car from the airport to the studio. I have believed this to be the case for over 50 years.
In the original programme, the world famous Conductor, Mr Andre Previn, was so traumatised by his experiences with Mr Morecombe and Mr Wise on their show that we next saw him on a Red London Double Decker bus working as a different type of Conductor - issuing bus tickets to passengers. He was a great sport. Shirley Bassey - a wonderful and much loved singer in the UK - also barely managed to hold on to her career after appearing on the Morecambe & Wise Show. Sad, very sad! 😄
So glad you got round to watching this, and so glad you enjoyed it. Two more M & W recommendations for you: their sketch with the singer Shirley Bassey who bravely tries to sing a song with M & W causing havoc behind her, and any one of Ernie Wise’s “plays.” In their shows (usually their Christmas specials) Eric and Ernie star in a play that Ernie has written (he considers himself a great playwright) and famous 70s and 80s actors of the day (Glenda Jackson, Peter Cushing to name but two) are enticed to perform in the play, believing it to be a serious production (when it is anything but due to Eric continuously cracking jokes during the play itself).
Famous British celebrities were lining up to be on the show and be 'abused'. There is an interview with Previn about this skit later in his life. Try M&W Singin in the rain skit Also there skit with Des O'Connor
Eric Morcambe was really nervous about the scratch as Preven learnt it on a flight in from the US and they only had a day rehearsal. It’s gone down as one of the great UK sketches. You can tell Eric’s joy at the end. The phrase “all the right notes, not necessarily in the right order.” Is very well known in the UK.
André Previn - shockingly talented. It's unbelievable that someone from outside the comedy discipline can live with that. Not only be there in that situation, but to actually own it. That's what got the orchestra and crew.
My small claim to fame is that in the 1970s Andre Previn lived near to me in SE England and I used to see him quite regularly catching the morning train to London. Sometimes people would approach him and he was always very polite but seemed quite shy.
Glad you two enjoyed this so much. Im a UK 60 year old. Its hard to get over how much Eric and Ernie meant to a UK audience at their peak, which was over the 70s. And especially their beloved Xmas shows. I grew up with them and for millions here, Xmas was extra special because of Morecambe and Wise. I never tire of watching this routine, which I consider their best alongside Cleopatra with Glenda Jackson. I highly recommend you try that one.
Some context for a couple of the jokes, Arthur Negas was a famous antique dealer and appraiser on TV at the time, and Edward Heath was the Prime Minister who was also known to be a very keen piano player.
Andre Previn was born in Germany and his family moved to the USA to escape being persecuted for being Jewish. He had an amazing gift for music - by the age of 20, he was working for MGM scoring their big musicals during the day and playing jazz in Shelley Manne’s band in the evenings. He was also a concert soloist, conductor of the top orchestras in the world and a composer. Overall, he is probably the most gifted musician of the last century and as you can see, could play a pretty good part in a comedy sketch as well. Incidentally, he learned his lines in the plane coming over from Chicago, where he forgot his baton!
Such a treat!, no Christmas was complete without them. When Eric morcombe died it was like losing a parent. I still hear his version of the concerto when I hear the opening
Great video 👍 The whole premise of Morecambe & Wise is to make Big Star performers part of the comedy sketch this sketch was a Huge Hit a bit like "Four Candles"😊
Morcambe and Wise were the comedy duo of my childhood. On tv every Saturday evening as far as I can remember. Lots of improv amongst the scripted bits. They did lots of sketches as if they were living in the same home and I always wondered how much of Bert and Ernie from the Muppets got their way of interacting from these.
Great work by Andre Previn... Also, one of the most iconic lines of all time...." I'm playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order" 😂
Morecambe & Wise were the most popular stars on TV in the 70s and their Christmas specials were an absolute must watch by all the family - the most famous stars of the time highlight of their career was to make it on the show. Try singing in the rain or Des O'Connor sketches both fantastic.
When I watched this, on its first airing, it was highly entertaining and the line playing all the rigjt notes but not nessarily in all the right places was at the time the LOL moment that got better with age, as you know that moment is classic BBC tv.
Andre Previn was very famous in your country. 😅 He learned this sketch on the plane on the way over. The famous used to line up to be in their show. Morcambe and Wise and Leslie Crowther visiting the kids in hospital were a Christmas tradition when I was a kid.
Just love Morecambe and Wise. Find the bedroom sketches. Hysterical. Morecambe, " I wish you had told me you had changed the bathroom mirror", Wise, "Why"?", Morecambe, " I have just spend 10 minutes trying to shave a seagull off my left cheek" :) They were classic ! !❤❤
I loved the breakfast sketch when it first came out, but when I re-watched it I found it a bit dated. I think it's because the stripper tune was everywhere in the 1970s and everyone automatically associated it with being the go to striptease music which added to the humour. I'm not sure if you played that music to anyone under 45 they'd make that connection anymore. I still love it from a nostalgic point of view though.
Andre was a great musician. His era as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra fantastic and his recordings with them for RCA were very special. This is one of the top conducting jobs in the World. He was also a fine jazz pianist (working with Ella Fitzgerald for example) and very good chamber musician (Mozart especially). Over and above this he was a composer who won back to back Oscars. He wrote the musical A Streetcar Named Desire.
Morecambe and Wise hold a special place in British Comedy and in the hearts of the people in the UK. Eric Morecombe was also the Chairman of the football club I support Luton Town and occasionally references them in the pairs comedy skits.
I work for a professional symphony orchestra and one of our soloists next season is playing the Grieg Piano Concerto. The conductor has even referred to this sketch in the programme notes. I feel a little sorry for you reviewing this as there are lots of references to people and events that only Brits of a certain age would know. That aside, well done for having a go at a review, but I could see a lot of the references went over your head - understandably so.
Previn recalled in 2005 that people in Britain still remember the sketch years later: "Taxi drivers still call me Mr Preview". He later said he was happy that the sketch meant as much to everyone else as it did to him, and that several parts of it were (uncharacteristically for Morecambe and Wise) improvised.
Both my parents always told me how much of a big deal Preview was, but don't worry - I have watched this sketch countless times, and I only know him from this! XD
Morecambe and Wise had a lot of very famous people on their show. Their ratings were the highest of any tv show at the time and their Christmas specials were brilliant. A highlight of the tv schedule. Still well loved today.
That thumbnail image is so iconic that millions of Britons know that what's being said in that sketch is 'I'm playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order'.
Im 46 and grew up watching these guys and many other greats. The iconic catchphrases and sketches have stayed with me and have become staple dialogue for me. 😅❤
André Previn was the chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra at the time, who were “the band” in this sketch. Despite his numerous achievements and accolades throughout his hugely successful career, André said whenever he got into a London cab he was always asked by the cabbie “where are you off to Mr Preview?” He said the reference always made him chuckle. Until the day he died, he was always always remembered for this sketch in the UK, not for his many awards! He was a very very talented man!
That was their greatest talent; no matter what the guests endured, their careers never suffered. Angela Rippon, Shirley Bassey, Penelope Keith; all had long and successful careers despite...
It's funny to see a lot of the jokes leaving you completely non-plussed. In order to understand them all you have to have grown up in Britain and be at least 60 years old like me!
The André Previn appearance on _Morecambe & Wise_ was perhaps the pinnacle of a weird phenomenon M&W invented of 'Dumbing UP'. The Morecambe & Wise show was pure _Vaudeville_ ...considered 'base' entertainment ...for the masses, kinda thing. It worked it was THE most popular show in the UK for maybe a decade. Not sure who the first guest was, but they invited some 'high-brow' actor/singer onto the show, and basically had them humiliate themselves. The 'gag' was that the artist had fallen on hard times and had to appear on M&W's comedy show to earn a little money. The gag was expanded to have the artist return in subsequent shows to complain that he/she hadn't been paid, and pester Ernie Wise who portrayed the ultimate tight wad. However, the guest showing willing to be humiliated led to a MASSIVE PR boost, and suddenly, someone the public hadn't much truck with, became the country's favourite in their field. None of the hoi-polloi had heard of André 3000, ...Agassi! ...NO - Privet!! until he went on M&W. The suddenly EVERYONE knew the conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, _André Previn_ Nobody knew his body of work - just THIS silly sketch. He was featured briefly in a later show, to illustrate the result of his appearance on the M&W show. He was still working as a 'conductor', but now a BUS conductor - the guy who collects the fares and issues tickets to passengers, whilst the driver drives the route. THAT was always the gag with celebrity appearances, but the reality was the direct _opposite_ with the guest's public profile rising meteorically after an M&W appearance. Great reaction, guys. Do please check out an early guest appearance of ELTON JOHN on the M&W show. (You can tell it's a 'baby' Elton, because he's bald! As Elton progressed into middle-age, he acquired hair!)
Morcambe and Wise did two other great musical funny sketches - one based on breakast time, the other based around the famous movie song and scene Singing In The Rain. I think you would enjoy both.
Eric and Ernie's Christmas shows used to be the most watched shows in the UK. They were hugely popular - their regular series in the year had viewers in the millions but at Christmas no other program could compete. Famous stars would queue up to be on the show and be lampooned - it was a real highlight of Christmas television
Andre had to fit the filming of this into the only day he had spare as he flew from NYC to Berlin via London. Eric and Ernie had rehearsed it but Andre had very little time to but his comic timing was superb. When he holds his gaze staring at eric totaly dead pan long enough to have the audience in peels of laughter before he interupts. The Orchestra had little idea about what was going to happen so like the audience they were killing themselve laughing. Many huge stars appeared on the M&W show especialy the Christmas ones inc. Oscar winning actors and big worldwide singers. Some would appear in mini plays that Erine was supposed to have written which once Eric appeared always went wrong Glenda Jackson, Judy Dench and Juilet Mills among them.
A classic. Andrew Previn was a regular face on UK television in chat shows and high-brow quiz shows. He had a good sense of comedy, and had such good fun that he returned several years later. That was the magic of Morecammbe and Wise - they could get anyone on their show, from former Prime Ministers to rock legends like Elton John, even if it was a 5 second cameo. Their Christmas specials often had a dozen familiar UK faces in them.
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I'm 61. Any Briton of a similar age know these guys off by heart. When we hear a police siren our first thought is "he won't sell much ice cream going at that speed!"
Very true.
Same age, same influences, same upbringing! Would love to see these folks react to the 'Singing In The Rain' and 'Breakfast For Two' sketches/skits!
You don't have to be a Briton. I'm irish and know all their sketches too.
If we ever asked my dad what's on the telly he would do his Eric voice and say, “A fruit bowl and an ashtray.”
Same as Dads Army
Andre Previn was a very highly respected serious musician at this time. Conductor of many major orchestras ( including the one in this sketch ) and had already won four Oscars by this point. The public perception would be that he would be very dry and lacking in humour..... Andre's only stipulation was that no-one made fun of the music. Other than that he was game. Superb timing, deadpan expression and a great sense of fun. Brilliant.
And one of his best lines ("it's in Chicago") was an ad lib. He was certainly up for the role.
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 I get a broad grin on my face whenever Grieg Piano Concerto comes.on the radio as it has such fond memories so Andre was wise ( no pun intended ) to realise an appearance here would open up classical music to a wider audience and make it seems less stuffy and inaccessible. 👌
@@jamesdignanmusic2765 indeed ! The moment Eric realises that, although Andre hadn't been there for the extensive rehearsals, he ' got it ' and the sketch was in safe hands.
@@annicecooper8105 you can see the delight on Eric's face after he said it!
They had some of the best Hollywood actors of the time asking to be on their show. This would have been reherst for hour and hours before they did it life on television.
Morecambe and Wise singing in the rain. One of the classics
Definitely should react to this sketch
Second that
Third that absolutely brilliant sketch.
Morcambe and Wise ‘ The Stripper ‘ set in a kitchen. It’s brilliant.
And the breakfast scene lol
Andre Previn was very highly-respected. To see him take part in a comedy like this, was so gracious of him. He knew he was in a comedy. He knew he would be lampooned, but he joined in the fun. Great respect to the man. The ending showed that.
Andre Previn at the time was a world famous pianist/conductor and agreed to appearing which was not rehearsed. From thereon when he came to London everyone called him 'Mr Preview.' Tha Band was 'London Symphony Orchestra' & the saying 'Right Notes! Wrong Order' became a national saying and is still used today, 53 years later
"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order" became an overnight catch phrase. Their show consisted of an intro chat, sketches, guest singers and the finale was always a mini play "wot Ernie wrote". Their Christmas specials attracted many famous people aho willingly came on to be humiliated. Their 1977 Christmas Special was watched by 28 million viewers (and that is on the night of transmission). Morecambe and Wise on telly 1968 to 1977 and Two Ronnies on telly 1971 to 1987. What a time to be alive!!
One of the main reasons I am happy I grew up when I did !! We were blessed with amazing entertainers, that helped us laugh & smile even through difficult times.
I’m thinking it was 71 and maybe 77 was a compilation . . . 71 makes the pre decimalisation joke funnier
One thing I love about this sketch is that Andre did not show up to a single rehearsal making Morecombe and Wise very nervous that the sketch was going to fail on TV. It's amazing that someone with no background in comedy performs so well without rehearsing that you dont even notice
When they had to convince the boys he'd be able to cope, they pointed out that his day job required a good memory and timing.
Eric and Ernie were very strict with rehearsals, every joke and movement had to be meticulously planned and nailed down in order to get right (They once didn’t make a series one year and instead focused all their efforts into that year’s Christmas special). With this sketch, Previn couldn’t commit to all the rehearsals, because obviously he was busy, so there was some tension when they got in front of the camera. When you see Eric’s reaction to Previn’s ‘I’ll get my baton. It’s in Chicago’, that was him basically going ‘Ok, we’re going to be fine’.
Because of this sketch, everyone in Britain forever called Previn ‘Andrew Preview’, and he just accepted it. Even when he passed away in 2019, the British media couldn’t resist referring him to ‘Andrew Preview’.
This was part of their 1971 Christmas Show for which they saved their best ideas and had 'top' guests. It was considered a bit of an honour to be invited on as a guest, especially on the Christmas shows, and in recent years the BBC has taken to repeating some of them over the Christmas period, 50 years or so after they were made, which shows how ingrained in the National consciousness they became. Christmas is, perhaps more extended here as the day after Christmas is a public holiday and many people who can take the period between Christmas and New Year as leave, so Christmases past possibly make more of a lasting impact, but, whatever the reason, Eric and Ernie's Christmas shows made a lasting impact upon the British psyche and they are warmly remembered and sadly missed, especially by those of us of a certain age. They certainly did bring sunshine (to quote their signature song).
There's an ending to this that you didn't see .
As others have said Andre Previn was one of the top orchestral geniuses of that time and the end was a comical look at how careers change after working eith Eric and Ernie .
You have a close up of Andre saying to the camera,
" I'm Andre Previn and this is me after working with Morecambe and Wise " . The camera pulls back as a London bus pulls away and Andre rings the bell as the ticket collector . Classic comedy from a time when humour was clean and silly . Mr Previn, top man for taking part 👏
"Bus conductor" makes for a better joke than "ticket collector".
Andre preview became an overnight success here in the UK and gained tens of thousands of fans too. Any actors singers performers would jump at the chance to appear on the Morcambe and Wise show. They were the big stars of the Seventies and Eighties.
They went back decades before that.
Their Christmas Show was must see TV and the nation tuned in virtually without exception. 😊
@@lynnelang3184They had had a checquered career for many years. It wasn't until they hired Eddie Braben as their writer that they really attained stardom. He understood them better than any other writers and really created the show that we remember.
@@Benjiesbeenbetter. Kenneth Tynan wrote a great article about M&W saying that Braben inverted their onstage persona. He sais something along the lines that with Hills & Green, Ernie was the streetwise straightman & Eric was the gormless or naive clown, but with Braben Ernie was the naive straightman and Eric the streetwise clown.
You have to do them making breakfast. It was done in one take!
Eric and Ernie were huge and much loved in the 60s 70s and 80s. Their Christmas shows were massive and just about every UK family would watch together
All the right notes is iconic
"But not necessarily in the right order!"🤣
Mr. Previn came totally prepared for this show, he also loved the fact that wherever he went in the world British people would recognize him & call out Andrew Preview. RIP Mr. Previn.
Its difficult to convey just how much loved by the country were Eric and Ernie. Their christmas specials stopped the nation with huge viewing figures. Family fun, no bad language and that genuine love and warmth between them, their guests and us, the audience. When Eric died so young, it was felt as a personal loss by many many people. Just the best. Still miss you lads.
Yehudi Menuhin - American-born British violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century
Sir Henry Wood - English conductor and founder of the 'Henry Wood Promenade concerts' ('Proms' for short - You may have reacted to something from 'the last night of the proms' the final night of the season...many react channels do) - they are a series of classical music concerts held each year. The joke being that Eric is riffing on the meaning of 'promenade'...i.e. the type of concert and a beachfront promenade intended to be walk along (or fished from as the joke is here)
Arthur Negus - British TV personality and antiques expert specialising in furniture. At this time he was on a TV show called 'Going for a Song' where, along with a panel of other experts and celebrities, he appraised antiques. The phrase “go for a song” means to be sold very cheaply.
The show entailed the panel being presented with an antique and they would have to assess and identify it and guess the date and value of the piece etc...which would then be revealed to see if they were correct. (hence the 'three-piece suite gag'...riffing on 'suite' - a set of furniture that consists of a sofa and two chairs covered in the same material and suite being a piece of music)
Glenda Jackson - very famous and successful British actress...at the time this was made she was in a film called 'The Music Lovers', which was not a particularly big hit, but was based on the life of Tchaikovsky, hence the reference (topical then, obscure now)
Ivy Benson - 1940s popular all female swing bandleader frequently headlined variety theatres and topped the bill at London Palladium. The joke being that he's juxtaposing the relatively low-brow nature of old school music hall variety entertainment with high brow classical music. The genius being that he's about to play music hall style piano...rather than the classical he's supposed to...
So many jokes both lost to time and in lost in translation.
_"For another £4 we could have got Ted Heath"_ - Possibly a reference to the British 'big band' leader, but he was already dead by this time. More likely, Eric was referring to Sir Edward 'Ted' Heath, former Prime Minister and amateur conductor. Whoever was meant, Eric suggesting that musical superstar André Previn was £4 cheaper was a bit insulting :)
@@ftumschk Definitely PM Ted Heath as he was a pianist, too, as well as a yachtsman.
Every British person now knows the line: "I am playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order." But not many knew who Andre Previn was, because he was in the classical music field, and not really famous to the general public at the time. He became mega famous after the show was aired!
Andrew Previn was the American conductor of the LSO , London Symphony Orchestra for a number of years,he was also an accomplished concert pianist,he died in 2019❤❤
Eric was actually a excellent pianist. Another brilliant comedian that was a excellent pianist was Les Dawson. Part of his act was playing the piano badly and it was absolutely hilarious. He is another one from the same era as Eric and Ernie that will be worth you looking at.
Definitely , loved Les.
It was always assumed that Les was a great pianist to be able to do that, but after he died, his widow confessed that, although he greatly exaggerated for the stage, he really wasn't a very good pianist.
@@Benjiesbeenbetter. Perhaps not "great", but there are enough bits of footage of Les when he was playing "straight" to show he was a very decent pianist. He only played wrong notes when he wanted to, always selected for comedic effect and played with the correct musical timing. This was not just some hack banging at the keyboard.
@numberkruncherr I didn't mean to imply the bad playing was for real. It's just that a myth grew up that he was actually a latter day Gershwin. He was, as you say, good but not the world class talent the myth suggested.
Eric Morecambe and Les Dawson were average pianists. It was very common for variety artists to be able to play a musical instrument, often the piano. Neither could be described as excellent.
Eric Morcambe's instruction to Andre was that " we three must be the only people who do not find any of this funny ". Hence the orchestra in the background all pissing themselves laughing watching their former boss having his chops smacked and made to jump up in the air. 😄
One of my favourite bits in the whole thing is the violiinst in the background killing himself with laughter as Eric grabs Previn's collar.
Guys this went over your heads. This is one of the all time great moments in tv. You have to understand he was one of the most respected and serious musicians of the age. And they were mocking him. They didn’t even rehearse it and had to film it on the fly. And it turned out to be a classic and Previn was greatly praised for his comic timing and ability to run with the script he was given even with the ad libs.
There was a rerun of this in 2000 while I was stuck in hospital in Australia after an horrific accident. I was howling with laughter and all the nurses rushed in worried that I had had a relapse. It really cheered me up.
Previn was very famous, he was a great sport in this sketch.
The ‘all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order… ‘ comment has passed into UK folklore- a true classic.
One of my favourite M & W jokes is just 2 lines.
The 2 of them sitting on a park bench:
"It's nice out in the sun"
"Yes but put it away, here comes a policeman."
Andre Previn was a MASSIVE musical figure back in the 60s to the 80's ( just read his Wikipedia page).
He flew over to the UK especially to do this sketch and learned his lines in the taxi on the way to the studio from the airport.
If I remember correctly, they didn't even rehearse the sketch, he just came in and did it so that it had a natural flow.
He was a true professional and much loved by the UK after hamming it up with Eric & Ernie.
Famous actors, actresses & musicians of the day used to line up to be on one of their shows & have the Micky taken out of themselves by those two.
Morecambe and Wise often had very famous, serious actors in their show and the results were always hilarious.
Many famous people of stage and screen literally wanted to appear on the M&W show. They all knew they were going to be the subject of humour, but not at their expense to belittle them. 'A' list celebs of the time felt 'safe' with M&W, Glenda Jackson, Peter Cushing, Shirley Bassey and many more. Millions of people here in the UK tuned in to watch M&W on the BBC every Saturday eve back in the 1970's, especially the Xmas shows. The Two Ronnies were another very successful comedy duo, whose series ran for years :)
I was once watching a quiz on TV and the answer was Andre Previn. After growing up with this sketch, and seeing it about 100 times, I confidently (and accidentally) yelled 'Andrew Preview'.
"I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order." is probably the most iconic line in the whole of British comedy.
Great family entertainment and for those of us that watched all these back in the day - it brings back warm memories of watching with Mum and Dad. Not a swear word in sight!!
Morecambe and Wise started out doing the live variety shows back in the days when you had to be able to sing, dance, and play music as well as be funny in order to get noticed. They did some great sketches with singers like Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones. If famous people were asked if they wanted to be made to look stupid by Morecambe and Wise, their answer was always yes.
They started as child performers during WW2, when many adults had been called up. They learnt from mistakes and by the 1070 had perfected their craft. Their first TV series in the early 60 had very bad reviews, being most famous for having the Beatles as the musical guests in one episode. They did three films in the 60s. The first was very bad but they got better with each one. Their Christmas specials in the 70s were the highlight of TV for the day.
This sketch became what Andre Previn was most famous for.
Stars used to love going on this show.
Andre Previn's comic timing is excellent.
Trouble with reacting to this sketch now is that a lot of the references are both very british and dated (Ivy Benson for one). I saw this live when first broadcast and nearly wet myself. Andre Previn was a hugely respected international figure as a serious, very professional, musician of world standing. For various reasons he had very little rehearsal and Morecombe has said he didn’t think he would get it. Eric's reaction to "I'll just get my baton - it's in Chicago" was the point at which Eric realised that Andre was fully on board and committed. Not surprisingly a conductors sense of timing, musically and comedic, was superb. As has already been noted the sketch followed Andre for the rest of his life and added to his respect, he referred to it at some length in his autobiography. I am delighted that, despite the many local references, both in time and location, our friends across the water can still 'get' and enjoy the sketch. To me it is one of the all time classics. I know it by heart, I still laugh when watching it! Thank you for sharing it.
Eric and Ernie were great at getting very serious actors, actress ,news readers etc of the time and making funny sketches with them
Lovely! Morecambe and Wise really were a British institution. They started as song dance / comic in the music halls of post war England. The mastered and perfected their art in the early days of tv and at the peak, A list guests queued up to appear on their show to be mocked and made fun of. You knew you had made it once Eric and Ernie made fun of you! All family entertainment at is very best. RIP boys - sadly missed.
As has been said, Andre Previn was the most famous 'serious' musician and conductor in the world at that time. It is said that Morecambe was unsure whether the sketch would work as it had no real rehearsal time, but when it came to the 'It's in Chicago' line, he knew it was going to work, hence his laugh after it.
Yes, you can see for a second that he was about to gee up the audience, realised that they had "got" the joke, and then knew that it was all going to come good. Just HOW good it would come is the stuff of legend...
I love the band in background cracking up. Brilliant very iconic sketch. Everyone in Britain knows the line “I’m playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order” very iconic line
No 70s Christmas was complete without Eric and Ernie , and it was usually the most watched show . Their music hall origins meant they could do a bit of everything and they had some big guest stars .Andre and others admitted they were nervous about doing comedy but it always worked superbly . Singing in the rain , and Glenda Jackson in Ernies version of Anthony & Cleopatra come to mind but there are so many worth another look . Glad you both enjoyed this one .
I've always loved the way Ernie Wise, beaming away, dances along to Eric's playing, like an adult size little boy.
Andre Previn was well known in the UK at the time, and whilst very personable in interviews, was thought of as a serious musician and conductor, so him appearing on the Morecambe and Wise show was a revelation.
Their act was unusual in itself as they'd moved on from the usual straight man / comic routine to a large extent, and were both doing the comedy.
I think their scriptwriter said of their stage characters "they're both idiots, but neither of them realises."
Andre Previn does a superb job of keeping a straight face throughout. It can't have been easy.
That was the funniest moment of all time .
They did perform it years earlier with just themselves but adding Previn to the mix turned a funny sketch into a timeless classic. The punch line is just beautiful....
Very funny, the whole family could watch. Not a swear word to be heard, how times have changed, and not for the better !
The gag about "which one's the fixer" that made the orchestra laugh is an in-joke for musicians. When agents are asked to get a group of musicians together, they ask one musician to contact the best musicians available and that person (the fixer) will get a cut of the agent's fee for doing it. So, in a group of musicians, everyone has to keep friendly with the fixer even though they are all envious because he/she gets paid the MU rate fee plus the additional fee agreed by the agent. Hence, "he's the one in the gold lamé suit" ie better paid than the rest. Basically, Eric blew a musicians' secret on national TV, but only the orchestra understood it.
Mr Previn agreed to the show but did not do the 2 weeks reherlsal and read hes script in a Taxi to the studio just before filming started , Morecambe and wise were unsure about hes ability until Previn said my baton is in Chicargo , thats why Eric said hes in hes in
I'm from England, U.K. and this is my favourite all-time Morecambe & Wise sketch!
Note the Orchestra at the back absolutely p!ss!ing themselves laughing!!! 🙂
Being a celeb and having the p*** taken out of them by Morecambe & Wise was like a rite of passage, especially if it was on the Christmas Day show when almost half of the UK was watching. It is also very clever to be able to play the piano "badly" like that. Another comedian who did this brilliantly was Les Dawson.
Eric Morecambe apparently said that he felt that the Grieg piano concerto sketch was one of the best ones they ever made. 😊 And I definitely agree. How Previn kept a straight face throughout the sketch, I have no idea. 😄 Especially when Morecambe plays the ragtime version. 😁
Previn had been on the BBC for years before he appeared on the Morecambe & Wise Show. He lived in the UK at the time but rarely got recognised. The day after this show went out the guys down the pub insisted on buying him a drink
At the time that this was recorded it was a great honour to be invited to appear on The Morcambe & Wise Show. It was watched by everybody more or less. They were fantastically popular and very funny. I have seen that clip many times and watched it when it was originally broadcast, and I had tears of laughter again watching it just now. The British sense of humour and the American one are often quite different. To get on the Morcambe and Wise Show you had to be seriously famous and game for a laugh. Andre Previn was very famous in the UK at that time and had far more of a sense of humour than many people suspected.
Rumour has it, that Andre Previn memorized the script, word perfect, during the car journey from the airport to the studio! :)
No it was during the plane flight over, you're maybe thinking of Rod Temperton who wrote Vincent Price's rap for Thriller in the cab over to meet Vincent at the recording studio
It has been written and told many times, as fact, that Previn learnt the script, by torch light, in the back of the car from the airport to the studio. I have believed this to be the case for over 50 years.
In the original programme, the world famous Conductor, Mr Andre Previn, was so traumatised by his experiences with Mr Morecombe and Mr Wise on their show that we next saw him on a Red London Double Decker bus working as a different type of Conductor - issuing bus tickets to passengers. He was a great sport. Shirley Bassey - a wonderful and much loved singer in the UK - also barely managed to hold on to her career after appearing on the Morecambe & Wise Show. Sad, very sad! 😄
So glad you got round to watching this, and so glad you enjoyed it.
Two more M & W recommendations for you: their sketch with the singer Shirley Bassey who bravely tries to sing a song with M & W causing havoc behind her, and any one of Ernie Wise’s “plays.” In their shows (usually their Christmas specials) Eric and Ernie star in a play that Ernie has written (he considers himself a great playwright) and famous 70s and 80s actors of the day (Glenda Jackson, Peter Cushing to name but two) are enticed to perform in the play, believing it to be a serious production (when it is anything but due to Eric continuously cracking jokes during the play itself).
Famous British celebrities were lining up to be on the show and be 'abused'.
There is an interview with Previn about this skit later in his life.
Try M&W Singin in the rain skit
Also there skit with Des O'Connor
Eric Morcambe was really nervous about the scratch as Preven learnt it on a flight in from the US and they only had a day rehearsal. It’s gone down as one of the great UK sketches. You can tell Eric’s joy at the end. The phrase “all the right notes, not necessarily in the right order.” Is very well known in the UK.
Mr. Previn loved when people would shout Andrew Preview across airports. 1971 & people never forgot. RIP Mr. Preview
André Previn - shockingly talented. It's unbelievable that someone from outside the comedy discipline can live with that.
Not only be there in that situation, but to actually own it.
That's what got the orchestra and crew.
My small claim to fame is that in the 1970s Andre Previn lived near to me in SE England and I used to see him quite regularly catching the morning train to London. Sometimes people would approach him and he was always very polite but seemed quite shy.
Glad you two enjoyed this so much. Im a UK 60 year old. Its hard to get over how much Eric and Ernie meant to a UK audience at their peak, which was over the 70s. And especially their beloved Xmas shows.
I grew up with them and for millions here, Xmas was extra special because of Morecambe and Wise.
I never tire of watching this routine, which I consider their best alongside Cleopatra with Glenda Jackson. I highly recommend you try that one.
Some context for a couple of the jokes, Arthur Negas was a famous antique dealer and appraiser on TV at the time, and Edward Heath was the Prime Minister who was also known to be a very keen piano player.
By the time Andre Previn appeared on this show he had already won four Oscars and five Grammy Awards. What a great sport and superb comic timing.
Andre Previn was born in Germany and his family moved to the USA to escape being persecuted for being Jewish. He had an amazing gift for music - by the age of 20, he was working for MGM scoring their big musicals during the day and playing jazz in Shelley Manne’s band in the evenings. He was also a concert soloist, conductor of the top orchestras in the world and a composer. Overall, he is probably the most gifted musician of the last century and as you can see, could play a pretty good part in a comedy sketch as well. Incidentally, he learned his lines in the plane coming over from Chicago, where he forgot his baton!
Such a treat!, no Christmas was complete without them. When Eric morcombe died it was like losing a parent. I still hear his version of the concerto when I hear the opening
Great video 👍 The whole premise of Morecambe & Wise is to make Big Star performers part of the comedy sketch this sketch was a Huge Hit a bit like "Four Candles"😊
Morcambe and Wise were the comedy duo of my childhood. On tv every Saturday evening as far as I can remember. Lots of improv amongst the scripted bits. They did lots of sketches as if they were living in the same home and I always wondered how much of Bert and Ernie from the Muppets got their way of interacting from these.
You have to remember when these sketches were done it was new to see big stars make fun of themselves!
I still rate this as probably the greatest comedy sketch ever produced in the UK, just ahead of Four Candles
Great work by Andre Previn...
Also, one of the most iconic lines of all time...." I'm playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order" 😂
Morecambe & Wise were the most popular stars on TV in the 70s and their Christmas specials were an absolute must watch by all the family - the most famous stars of the time highlight of their career was to make it on the show. Try singing in the rain or Des O'Connor sketches both fantastic.
When I watched this, on its first airing, it was highly entertaining and the line playing all the rigjt notes but not nessarily in all the right places was at the time the LOL moment that got better with age, as you know that moment is classic BBC tv.
Andre Previn was very famous in your country. 😅
He learned this sketch on the plane on the way over. The famous used to line up to be in their show.
Morcambe and Wise and Leslie Crowther visiting the kids in hospital were a Christmas tradition when I was a kid.
My childhood I am a 72 born baby absolutely loved Morecambe and wise😂😂
1972 also 👍
You need to watch the sketch they did with Shirley Bassey it's one I remember fondly
Just love Morecambe and Wise. Find the bedroom sketches. Hysterical. Morecambe, " I wish you had told me you had changed the bathroom mirror", Wise, "Why"?", Morecambe, " I have just spend 10 minutes trying to shave a seagull off my left cheek" :) They were classic ! !❤❤
I think one of the other classics is preparing breakfast to "The Stripper"
Have you watched the breakfast sketch by morcombe and wise? That is one of my favourites 😊
I loved the breakfast sketch when it first came out, but when I re-watched it I found it a bit dated. I think it's because the stripper tune was everywhere in the 1970s and everyone automatically associated it with being the go to striptease music which added to the humour. I'm not sure if you played that music to anyone under 45 they'd make that connection anymore. I still love it from a nostalgic point of view though.
Andre was a great musician. His era as principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra fantastic and his recordings with them for RCA were very special. This is one of the top conducting jobs in the World. He was also a fine jazz pianist (working with Ella Fitzgerald for example) and very good chamber musician (Mozart especially). Over and above this he was a composer who won back to back Oscars. He wrote the musical A Streetcar Named Desire.
Red sky at night... Shepherds house is on fire. Making breakfast to the tune of the stripper, classic.
Morecambe and Wise hold a special place in British Comedy and in the hearts of the people in the UK. Eric Morecombe was also the Chairman of the football club I support Luton Town and occasionally references them in the pairs comedy skits.
"I'm playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order..." 🤣🤣
absolute classic sketch
I work for a professional symphony orchestra and one of our soloists next season is playing the Grieg Piano Concerto. The conductor has even referred to this sketch in the programme notes. I feel a little sorry for you reviewing this as there are lots of references to people and events that only Brits of a certain age would know. That aside, well done for having a go at a review, but I could see a lot of the references went over your head - understandably so.
My favorite couple on youtube.
Previn recalled in 2005 that people in Britain still remember the sketch years later: "Taxi drivers still call me Mr Preview". He later said he was happy that the sketch meant as much to everyone else as it did to him, and that several parts of it were (uncharacteristically for Morecambe and Wise) improvised.
Both my parents always told me how much of a big deal Preview was, but don't worry - I have watched this sketch countless times, and I only know him from this! XD
Morecambe and Wise had a lot of very famous people on their show. Their ratings were the highest of any tv show at the time and their Christmas specials were brilliant. A highlight of the tv schedule. Still well loved today.
That thumbnail image is so iconic that millions of Britons know that what's being said in that sketch is 'I'm playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order'.
Im 46 and grew up watching these guys and many other greats.
The iconic catchphrases and sketches have stayed with me and have become staple dialogue for me. 😅❤
André Previn was the chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra at the time, who were “the band” in this sketch. Despite his numerous achievements and accolades throughout his hugely successful career, André said whenever he got into a London cab he was always asked by the cabbie “where are you off to Mr Preview?” He said the reference always made him chuckle. Until the day he died, he was always always remembered for this sketch in the UK, not for his many awards! He was a very very talented man!
That was their greatest talent; no matter what the guests endured, their careers never suffered. Angela Rippon, Shirley Bassey, Penelope Keith; all had long and successful careers despite...
It's funny to see a lot of the jokes leaving you completely non-plussed. In order to understand them all you have to have grown up in Britain and be at least 60 years old like me!
The André Previn appearance on _Morecambe & Wise_ was perhaps the pinnacle of a weird phenomenon M&W invented of 'Dumbing UP'.
The Morecambe & Wise show was pure _Vaudeville_ ...considered 'base' entertainment ...for the masses, kinda thing. It worked it was THE most popular show in the UK for maybe a decade.
Not sure who the first guest was, but they invited some 'high-brow' actor/singer onto the show, and basically had them humiliate themselves. The 'gag' was that the artist had fallen on hard times and had to appear on M&W's comedy show to earn a little money. The gag was expanded to have the artist return in subsequent shows to complain that he/she hadn't been paid, and pester Ernie Wise who portrayed the ultimate tight wad.
However, the guest showing willing to be humiliated led to a MASSIVE PR boost, and suddenly, someone the public hadn't much truck with, became the country's favourite in their field. None of the hoi-polloi had heard of André 3000, ...Agassi! ...NO - Privet!! until he went on M&W. The suddenly EVERYONE knew the conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, _André Previn_
Nobody knew his body of work - just THIS silly sketch.
He was featured briefly in a later show, to illustrate the result of his appearance on the M&W show. He was still working as a 'conductor', but now a BUS conductor - the guy who collects the fares and issues tickets to passengers, whilst the driver drives the route.
THAT was always the gag with celebrity appearances, but the reality was the direct _opposite_ with the guest's public profile rising meteorically after an M&W appearance.
Great reaction, guys. Do please check out an early guest appearance of ELTON JOHN on the M&W show. (You can tell it's a 'baby' Elton, because he's bald! As Elton progressed into middle-age, he acquired hair!)
Morcambe and Wise did two other great musical funny sketches - one based on breakast time, the other based around the famous movie song and scene Singing In The Rain.
I think you would enjoy both.
Eric and Ernie's Christmas shows used to be the most watched shows in the UK. They were hugely popular - their regular series in the year had viewers in the millions but at Christmas no other program could compete. Famous stars would queue up to be on the show and be lampooned - it was a real highlight of Christmas television
Andre had to fit the filming of this into the only day he had spare as he flew from NYC to Berlin via London. Eric and Ernie had rehearsed it but Andre had very little time to but his comic timing was superb. When he holds his gaze staring at eric totaly dead pan long enough to have the audience in peels of laughter before he interupts. The Orchestra had little idea about what was going to happen so like the audience they were killing themselve laughing. Many huge stars appeared on the M&W show especialy the Christmas ones inc. Oscar winning actors and big worldwide singers. Some would appear in mini plays that Erine was supposed to have written which once Eric appeared always went wrong Glenda Jackson, Judy Dench and Juilet Mills among them.
A classic. Andrew Previn was a regular face on UK television in chat shows and high-brow quiz shows. He had a good sense of comedy, and had such good fun that he returned several years later. That was the magic of Morecammbe and Wise - they could get anyone on their show, from former Prime Ministers to rock legends like Elton John, even if it was a 5 second cameo. Their Christmas specials often had a dozen familiar UK faces in them.
You must react to Morecombe and wise with shirley Bassey, superb sketch.
Glenda Jackson playing Cleopatra in one of Ernie's plays is a good one to watch next.
Andre Previn Wasn't a actor, wasn't a Comedian, he was a conductor , he was brilliant in this.